Reaching and Teaching Through Material Culture

Two weeks ago Judy Guston, Elyse Poinsett and I had the opportunity to
present at a symposium on Reaching and Teaching Through Material Culture,
held at the Winterthur Museum.  The three of us participated as part of a
session on using technology and our presentation “A Tale of Two Programs:
Using Technology Judiciously to Improve Visitor Experience” explored the
ways that both technology-based programs and technology-free programs can work
to create an intimate experience of collections objects.

The two programs we used as case studies were the blog-based Today in the Civil War and the
no-tech Hands-on-Tours. In
some cases the two programs even draw on the same set of collections
objects–there is a Civil War Hands-on-Tour (as well as tours on everything
from Magic to The Sea) and the same documents used on the tour have or will come up in due
course on Today in the Civil War. Through our presentation we were hoping to
show that technology is a great tool, but only a tool, and one to be used with
thought, rather than as an automatic and necessary component of any
21st-century museum experience. We also wanted to encourage our colleagues in small
to mid-sized institutions that even without a huge technology budget or staff you
can still produce great programs. Based on the positive comments we received,
our message and examples made an impact. Many thanks to everyone who helped us
create our presentation and to all of the Rosenbach visitors (both web and
on-site) who have participated in and supported these two programs over the
years.

One aspect that unites the two programs we discussed is that they are
intended to provide deeper access to and more personal experience with items
from our collection. That theme seemed to be a leitmotif running through the
entire symposium: making connections to great objects is at the heart of great
museum experiences. From the keynote speaker, who ran through slide after slide
of fantastic objects from so many museums and historical societies that our
jaws were hanging slack with amazement, to the closing speaker who presented
detailed survey data indicating that people’s most
meaningful museum experiences center around objects, the theme came through
loud and clear–objects matter. To be honest, this wasn’t much of a surprise to
us Rosenbachers–we’ve seen people’s excitement on getting close to a real
letter by George Washington or seeing Joyce’s slanted penmanship running down
the page. But it’s nice to know that we’re on the right track and that we’re
not alone in our thinking.

So what objects matter to you? When have you had a meaningful experience in
a museum–either here at the Rosenbach or somewhere else? I like to joke that I
was doomed to become a museum curator because at the age of five I would stand
in front of the dinosaurs in the natural history museum and hold forth to
anyone who would listen. Now it’s U. S. Grant’s letters and Bram Stoker’s Dracula
notes that no one can get me shut up about. But it’s because I feel that
connection and it excites me. What about you?